Celia Brackenridge, Professorial Research Fellow at Brunel University’s Centre for Sport, Health and Wellbeing, has been appointed as Child Protection Expert to the Dame Janet Smith Review, which is considering the culture and practices of the BBC during the years that Jimmy Savile worked there.

Professor Brackenridge has worked for many years on issues of child protection. Among her numerous appointments in the field, she served on the Research Committee of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers and was chair of the Research Task Force of the NSPCC/Sport England Child Protection in Sport Unit.

The Dame Janet Smith Review was established by the BBC to conduct an impartial, thorough and independent review of the culture and practices of the BBC during the years that Jimmy Savile worked there. The Review is receiving evidence from those who may have been the subject of inappropriate sexual conduct by Jimmy Savile on BBC premises or on location for the BBC and from others who may have raised concerns about his conduct with the BBC. It will also examine whether the BBC’s child protection and whistleblowing policies are fit for purpose.

The Review is chaired by the former Court of Appeal judge, Dame Janet Smith DBE.